Despite a 28.3 percent increase in high-speed business lines, Wisconsin still lags behind neighboring states.

Since 1990, non-farm employment in the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) has increased every year except 2003 and 2008, when employment was essentially flat. Between 1990 and 2008, average annual non-farm employment in the Madison MSA grew by 38 percent (96,500 jobs).

There are multiple ways that the Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates unemployment. This snapshot takes a look at the different offical numbers and how they compare to eachother.

Over the last 10 years, the unemployment rate for college graduates has averaged about 2.3 percent compared to 4.5 percent for high school graduates

In March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported a 14 percent unemployment rate for 20- to 24-year-olds. Comparing that to the 6.6 percent rate reported for 45- to 54-year-olds, one might conclude that younger workers are bearing the brunt of the recession.

In March 2008, there were 78 million men and 67.6 million women employed in the U.S. Over the next 12 months, these numbers grew by a significant amount.

One way jobs are created is when the people employed by the business and those employed by their suppliers spend their wages and salaries. This is known as the multiplier effect.

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development projects hospital employment will grow another 18 percent and add 20,950 jobs between 2006 and 2016.

The employment multiplier is a commonly used, sometimes misused, and often misunderstood concept. This snapshot uses Wisconsin Hospitals to illustrate the source of the industry’s jobs and how they were generated.